Every person deserves an opportunity to take pride in their work.

In a profession that delivers its work to thousands every day, journalists are often subject to a significant amount of criticism — some of it deserved — from many different angles. So, when staff members from the Morris Daily Herald earn recognition, we feel it important to salute their success.

We don't consider this boasting, especially when we foster an environment in the Morris Daily Herald newsroom that encourages constant improvement. In fact, achievements like the ones the Morris Daily Herald learned of at the end of April only validate the quality efforts our staff members are making on a daily basis. It reflects their growth, their talent and their abilities as journalists.

Why shouldn't we be proud of that?

It is easy to cast criticism onto a person with a difficult job, and it is hard for some to offer praise to that same person even when they succeed.

Considering this, I am taking the opportunity with my blog to congratulate every member of the Morris Daily Herald staff for all of the hard work they do on a daily basis. Most don't see the challenges and obstacles we face in trying to deliver the news to our community, but the results speak for themselves.

In June, the Illinois Press Association will recognize several members of the Morris Daily Herald staff for their award-winning work. In all, the Morris Daily Herald collected 22 awards in an assortment of categories against newspapers of similar size.

As online editor, I'm proud to say five awards are related to our efforts with the website, but that is only a fraction of the accomplishments in which we've been recognized. The list, provided below, highlights a year of hard work and dedication, and I'll be the first to say it hasn't gone unnoticed.

Congrats, Morris Daily Herald!

2011-12 ILLINOIS PRESS ASSOCIATION EDITORIAL CONTEST

• BEST SCHOOL BOARD COVERAGE: Christina Chapman, Morris Community High School District 101; and Mark Malone, Coal City Community Unit School District 1.

• BEST WEB PROJECT: Lisa Pesavento, Elf on a Shelf; Tim Smith and Steve Nitz, Sports MVPs; Mark Malone, Game Breakers: Kalvin Hill; and Mark Malone, Rebecca Trusheim and Jo Ann Hustis, Veterans Day.

• BEST WEBSITE: www.morrisdailyherald.com, Mark Malone and staff.

• BUSINESS/ECONOMIC REPORTING: Jo Ann Hustis, Food inspector compels Sages to destroy deer.

• COMMUNITY SERVICE: Christina Chapman and Patrick Graziano, Dreams Come True.

• EDITORIAL PAGE: Mark Johnson.

• ENTERPRISE REPORTING: Christina Chapman, That's not your normal Potpourri.

• GOVERNMENT BEAT REPORTING: Christina Chapman, 9-1-1 center controversy.

• HEADLINE WRITING: Patrick Graziano and Mark Malone.

• INFORMATIONAL GRAPHIC: Patrick Graziano, Hot enough for you?; Patrick Graziano, What readers are saying on Facebook.

• LOCAL EDITORIAL: Patrick Graziano.

• NEWSPAPER DESIGN: Staff.

• SPORTS COLUMN: Steve Nitz.

• SPORTS FEATURE: Steve Nitz, Making pitches count.

• SPORTS SECTION: T.G. Smith, Steve Nitz and Mark Johnson.

• SPORTS STORY: Steve Nitz, Raiders keep Cumbie.

In the past month, the Morris Daily Herald's newsroom gained a news reporter, but lost a sports writer.

First and foremost, the Morris Daily Herald welcomes new staff writer Jessica Shumaker, who started her duties on April 9.

Shumaker, a 2009 Olivet Nazarene University graduate, is focusing her efforts primarily on covering the local police, fire and court beats. She, however, is also covering the school and village boards in Coal City, not to mention picking up various features from time to time.

Shumaker comes to the Morris Daily Herald from The Villages Daily Sun in The Villages, Fla., where she worked as public safety reporter. Prior to that, she was the executive editor for Olivet Nazarene's student newspaper, the GlimmerGlass.

Shumaker, in fact, joins two other Olivet Nazarene graduates on the Morris Daily Herald staff. Lisa Pesavento, the visual content coordinator, and Jessica Cohea, also a staff writer, are also graduates of the Bourbonnais-based university.

Shumaker's work, as of late, includes:

• Love for the Library

• Morris Police Dept. looking for a few good officers

• Grant should help Coal City Library create needed space

• Coal City leaders decline library's permit request

• Police: STHS concession stand targeted again

• Rash of burglaries reported in South Wilmington

At the same time the Morris Daily Herald welcomed Shumaker to its staff, it said farewell to sports writer Steve Nitz, who is now the DeKalb Daily Chronicle's new beat writer for Northern Illinois University athletics. The Daily Chronicle is a sister paper of the Morris Daily Herald, as both are Shaw Media publications.

Nitz, whose work at the MDH was primarily focused on area prep athletics, contributed significantly to our writing, multimedia and social media initiatives. He covered NIU's spring football game on April 21 during his first assignment with the Daily Chronicle.

Nitz was a contributing writer for the Daily Chronicle from 2009-11 before joining the Morris Daily Herald sports staff. He, in fact, covered NIU's football team during the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

Recently, the Morris Daily Herald learned Nitz received four awards at the Illinois Press Association as part of the MDH sports team.

The MDH staff wishes Nitz much success in the future and invites our readers to follow his work with the Daily Chronicle. Besides taking over the blog Huskie Wire, Nitz also just recently wrote about NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish being drafted as "Mr. Irrelevant."